intentavsintentabaConfusable pair

Which to use

“intenta” and “intentaba” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#2,252
“intenta” frequency rank
#8,824
“intentaba” frequency rank
11076
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature intenta intentaba
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de intentar. Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de intentar.

Where the eye mixes intenta and intentaba

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

7 ch
intenta
9 ch
intentaba

Visual trap between intenta and intentaba

A purely visual mix-up. intenta ([ĩn̪ˈt̪ẽn̪t̪a]) and intentaba ([ĩn̪t̪ẽn̪ˈt̪aβ̞a]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “intenta” sits inside “intentaba”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11076, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

intenta is recorded at frequency rank #2,252, classified as averb, pronounced [ĩn̪ˈt̪ẽn̪t̪a]. intentaba is at rank #8,824, tagged as averb, pronounced [ĩn̪t̪ẽn̪ˈt̪aβ̞a].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 11076, this pair ranks #296,362 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of intenta vs intentaba

Shared letters: aeint. Private to "intenta": -. Private to "intentaba": b.

"intenta" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV  ·  "intentaba" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • intentainetnta · inntenta · intenat · intennta · intentta · intetna · intneta · inttenta
  • intentabainetntaba · inntentaba · intenatba · intenntaba · intentaab · intentabba · intentava · intentbaa

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "intenta" and "intentaba" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ĩn̪ˈt̪ẽn̪t̪a] versus [ĩn̪t̪ẽn̪ˈt̪aβ̞a]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "intenta" vs "intentaba" - which ranks higher?
"intenta" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,252 in our Spanish list, against #8,824 for "intentaba". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "intenta" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "intentaba" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #296,362 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "intenta" and "intentaba" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "intentaba vs intentaran". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #296,362 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list